Zoe Saldana, who played communications diva Uhura, recently told MTV.com that J.J. Abrams is in the process of fleshing out a storyline for the sequel.

"I spoke to J.J. and Bryan Burk, his producing partner at Bad Robot," Saldana said, “and they are still in the middle of building the script with Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci.”

She added that they’ll likely go into pre-production at the end of 2010, meaning moviegoers could be buying tickets for the next movie by Christmas of 2011.

Happy news? I say yes!

Image: Paramount Pictures

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At the 2009 Screenwriting Expo, taking place right now through tomorrow in Los Angeles, ComingSoon.net asked “Star Trek” writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (pictured) whether they could offer any updates on a sequel.

"We’re rereading some of our favorite ‘Star Trek’ novels now and watching the original series again. The honest answer is we don’t know yet," Orci said. "We think it’s going to be a 2012 release, but I’m not sure.”

Added Kurtzman, “Originally, we thought we were going to have to have the script in by Christmas, but the release changed so certainly within the next eight months I’d say.”

As for where the story will go, Orci said, “They’re established now in the second movie and they’re finally a crew so it will resemble what you see in terms of they are already who they are.”

Orci and Kurtzman have also recently returned to TV, working on “Fringe” with their old pal J.J. Abrams, whom they wrote for on “Alias.” “When J.J. said he wanted to create a show with me, it’s like ‘Screw you buddy,’" Orci joked.

“Also, he had studio commitments to Warner Brothers and we wanted him to direct ‘Star Trek.’ We feared he wouldn’t be able to do it if we didn’t help fulfill those obligations, so we did. We wanted him to be as focused on it as he could be on that so we’re like, we’ll absolutely help you. We would have done it anyway, but also it freed him up to do ‘Star Trek.’”

Hmmm … there are plenty of ways for a sequel to go. Just off the top of my head, a few characters that might be featured include Harry Mudd, the Gorn, or Khan. Any ideas what you’d like to see in a sequel?

Image: INF; Source: ComingSoon.net

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GENESIS II, 74 minutes, 1973. “My name is Dylan Hunt. My story begins the day on which I died.” Set between now and the era of the starship Enterprise, this story follows Hunt (Alex Cord), who awakens after 154 years of suspended animation into a post-apocalyptic world that’s torn between the peace-loving citizens of Pax and the militaristic, mutant Tyranians. Both want Hunt to join their cause. But the Tyranians have two cruel weapons to persuade Hunt: a device of torture called a stim. And an alluring mutant (Mariette Hartley) with two navels … and one ice-cold heart.

Planet Earth, 74 minutes, 1974. The time is the 22nd century. The place is the Confederacy, a matriarchy where men are enslaved and impotent. The hero is Dylan Hunt (John Saxon), a handsome 20th century scientist awakened from suspended animation – just the “breeder” a Confederacy dominatrix (Diana Muldaur, who went on to play Dr. Pulaski in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) has been waiting for! In this sequel to “Genesis II,” Gene Roddenberry puts a reverse spin on women’s lib in an action-filled tale set in a gleaming world of futuristic cities, underground sub shuttles, palm-sized computers and skintight uniforms. Can Hunt defy the Confederacy and free his downtrodden fellow males, or is he doomed to slavery on “Planet Earth”?

Plenty of 1970s-era goodness in these two DVDs! If you’re a fan of the “Star Trek” universe or Gene Roddenberry, they’re definitely worth a look.

Images: Warner Archive

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Maybe people are like me and don’t want to go see a sad movie right now. My daughter wants to see it, and I’m just not into it! Here are the numbers from Box Office Mojo:

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, $108.96M
2. The Proposal, $18.57M
3. The Hangover, $17.02M
4. Up, $13.06M
5. My Sister’s Keeper, $12.44M
6. Year One, $6.02M
7. The Taking of Pelham 123, $5.45M
8. Star Trek, $3.71M
9. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, $3.64M
10. Away We Go, $1.70M

Image: © 2009 DW Studios L.L.C. and Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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1. The Hangover, $32.79M
2. Up, $30.76M
3. The Taking of Pelham 123, $23.37M
4. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, $9.61M
5. Land of the Lost, $8.99M
6. Imagine That, $5.50M
7. Star Trek, $5.45M
8. Terminator: Salvation, $4.78M
9. Angels & Demons, $4.11M
10. Drag Me to Hell, $3.93M

Images: TM and (c) 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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At any rate, I’m a “Star Trek” fan from way back, and it’s fun to see people take an interest in the TV shows. Personally, “Star Trek: The Next Generation” is my favorite, although “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” is extremely underrated. Really, they’re all good in their own way.

Now we have two new sets out, released on DVD May 12, 2009:

The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series (1 disc, 201 minutes, buy it on Amazon). While this set only offers four episodes of the original series, they’re four of the best:

1) “The Trouble With Tribbles” brings those cute Tribbles to the Enterprise, showing that you can indeed have too much of a cute thing. Elsewhere, a barroom brawl with Klingons takes center stage.

2) In “The City on the Edge of Forever”, Kirk, Spock and McCoy are sent back to the 1930s to try and save the future. In the process, Kirk falls in love with Joan Collins!

3) “Balance of Terror” gives a first look at the Romulans and their awesome cloaking device. But these new enemies are a lot like the Vulcans, and the Enterprise crew starts to mistrust Spock.

4) In “Amok Time,” the usually logical Mr. Spock loses all emotional control when he returns home to Vulcan to consummate his arranged marriage. Somehow, it all boils down to a fight-to-the-death between Spock and Kirk.

The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1 disc, 181 minutes, buy it on Amazon). Again, only four episodes here, which probably aren’t enough to satisfy diehard fans, but they’re a good introduction for Star Trek: TNG newbies:

1) “Best of Both Worlds, Part 1” gives us our first look at the Borg and their ominous Cube. In my view, the Borg were way worse than the Romulans. Ok, maybe not worse, just a different sort of collective evil.

2) In “Best of Both Worlds, Part 2,” Riker takes over as captain, since Picard is still “assimilated” into the Borg world. Still, he manages to offer a single clue to the Enterprise crew: “Sleep.”

3) “Yesterday’s Enterprise” finds the crew dealing with a severe space-time continuum that takes the ship 22 years into the future. It’s one of the two episodes that features two different versions of the Enterprise.

4) “The Measure of a Man” brings home the question of whether Data is a man or just a robot. Picard fights for the former, and calls a hearing to prove it.

Images: Amazon.com

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• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, $70M
• Terminator Salvation, $53.82M
• Star Trek, $29.40M
• Angels & Demons, $27.70M
• Dance Flick, $13.10M
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine, $10.10M
• Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, $4.83M
• Obsessed, $2.50M
• Monsters vs. Aliens, $1.90M
• 17 Again, $1.28M

Images: TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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"The fun of this [new alternate 'Trek' reality] is that the destiny of these characters is in their hands — it’s not constrained by the pre-existing films or TV series," Abrams told MTV News. "Believe me, whether it’s William Shatner or Khan … it would be ridiculous to not be open to those ideas."

If you’ve seen the new movie, you know there’s an alternative timeline involved in the story. Sure, Capt. Kirk died in a previous film, but that doesn’t mean he can’t come back to life in future movies.

And what of Khan Noonien Singh, the evil villain played by Ricardo Montalban in previous films, including "The Wrath of Khan"? Abrams says he may NOT have been stuck on Ceti Alpha V. You know, different timelines and all. Writer/producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are already talking about bringing Khan back.

Who would play him, though? How about Ruben Blades? Or maybe Gael Garcia Bernal (pictured)? I guess they wouldn’t have to be of Latin descent, unless the filmmakers follow along the Ricardo Montalban ethnicity.

Of course, who knows when or if a sequel will be made. Says Abrams, "We’re all still coming down from making this movie." I can imagine!

Images: INF; William Shatner, Runway For Life Gala benefiting St. Jude Children’s Reserach Hospital, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, CA, Oct. 11, 2008; Gael Garcia Bernal, Premiere of 8, 2008 Rome Film Festival, Oct. 23, 2008.

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Perry’s latest movie is "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" from Lionsgate, and the trailer premiered on TylerPerry.com yesterday.

It brings back everyone’s favorite pistol-packin’ grandma Madea, who catches 16-year-old Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home (bad move on their part). So Madea decides to take charge and deliver the delinquents to their only relative: their Aunt April.

April is a hard-drinking nightclub singer who lives off her married boyfriend Raymond and wants nothing to do with the kids. But that all changes when a handsome Mexican immigrant named Sandino moves into April’s basement and challenges her to leave her old ways behind.

"I Can Do Bad All By Myself" hits theaters Sept. 11, 2009. Check out the trailer here.

Image: Lionsgate Films

Post from: Film Gecko

1. Star Trek, $75.20M
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, $26.40M
3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, $10.25M
4. Obsessed, $6.56M
5. 17 Again, $4.23M
6. Next Day Air, $4.11M
7. The Soloist, $3.94M
8. Monsters vs. Aliens, $3.26M
9. Earth, $2.66M
10. Hannah Montana: The Movie, $2.19M

Image: © Paramount Pictures

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